A MAN living in Croydon has been charged with smuggling Sri Lankan immigrants into the UK.
Chubramaniam Vignarajah, 50, was arrested along with 11 other people as part of coordinated raids by immigration and police officers across London, Luton and Essex on Wednesday.
Vignarajah, of Aurelia Road, Croydon, is charged with conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration.
So far a total of five members of the alleged people smuggling gang, from areas such as Northolt and Hayes, have been charged with the offence.
Six others have been bailed until July pending further investigation.
The Home Office said the arrests had been the culmination of a joint investigation into an alleged criminal network believed to assist Sri Lankan illegal immigrants attempting to reach the UK.
The operation involved Home Office investigators, Kent Police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and Europol, as well as French and German law enforcement agencies.
As police raided address in the UK, seven people were arrested in France.
